Nothing symbolized the Jazz Age more than the woman with bobbed hair, dressed in a short skirt and a cloche hat, twirling a long strand of pearls, and drinking a highball.

Liberated from the mindless drudgery of housework by her vacuum cleaner and washing machine, the young flapper could speed down to the local speakeasy in her Model T Ford. There, for a ten-cent cover charge, she could dance the Charleston and Black Bottom to the thrilling rhythms of the African American jazz band that improvised melodies until dawn. The songs glorified drinking, necking, and wearing stockings scandalously rolled down to show the knee.

Cigarette smoking, a habit formerly practiced only by men, was part of this fashion statement. Women even wore oversized pajamas known as "smoking suits" while clutching long cigarette holders in their teeth.

The lucky flapper could meet a new millionaire...